Some mothers find it hard to relate to their new baby, and such failure may have long-term effects on the infant. This has been a neglected area of research. A new simple 8 item self-rating mother-to-infant bonding questionnaire has been designed to assess the feelings of a mother towards her new baby. A principal components and reliability analysis demonstrated an alpha score of 0.71. One hundred and sixty two women filled in the Kennerley Blues Scale, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) the Highs Scale and the new Mother to Infant Bonding Scale on day 3 postpartum. Twelve weeks later they were sent the EPDS and the Bonding scales again. One hundred and forty four returned all questionnaires. There was a strong correlation between the Bonding scores at 3 days and at 12 weeks (r(s)=0.54 p<0.001). Multiple regression analysis showed that those with raised Blues scores had worse, and those with raised Highs scores had better bonding at 3 days. Those with raised EPDS scores at 3 days (13 and over) had worse bonding scores in the "first few weeks" (median 4 versus 1, p = 0.028), as recalled at 12 weeks. This simple questionnaire is acceptable for use with mothers and gives significant correlations with their early mood.

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1Rats were tested for locomotor activity in photocell cages, for 80 min starting immediately after subcutaneous injection of (-)-nicotine bitartrate or 0.9%w/vNaCl solution (saline). In nontolerant subjects, nicotine (0.1 to 0.4 mg/kg base) depressed activity and induced ataxia in the first 20 min, but increased activity later in the session; these actions were dose-dependent. 2 Tolerance was studied by comparing rats given nicotine (0.4 mg/kg s.c.) every day with control rats given saline instead. Each week, every subject was tested once with nicotine (0.4 mg/kg) and once with saline. With daily or even weekly injections of nicotine, the initial depressant action of the drug was replaced by a dose-dependent stimulant action which occurred throughout the session. In these tolerant animals, little ataxia was seen except when a larger dose of 0.8 mg/kg was given. Tolerance to the depressant action of nicotine persisted for at least 3 weeks. 3 In non-tolerant subjects, mecamylamine (0.5, 1.Omg/kgs.c.) prevented the initial depressant action of nicotine (0.4 mg/kg). In tolerant rats, the locomotor stimulant action of nicotine (0.4 mg/kg) was prevented by mecamylamine (0.1, 0.32, 1.0 mg/kg s.c.) in a dose-related way; the quaternary ganglion blocker, hexamethonium (0.2, 1.0, 5.0 mg/kg s.c.) had little or no such effect. Neither mecamylamine nor hexamethonium altered activity when given alone. 4 It is suggested that a few treatments with nicotine can unmask a stimulant action of the drug, probably of central origin, which possibly reflects a stimulation of nicotine receptors.

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The nature of the link between postnatal mental illness and disorders of maternal bonding remains unclear. Because, in multiparae, the disorder often 'missed' the first child, factors such as maternal personality traits or early childhood experiences cannot be regarded as sufficient causes.

BackgroundJob satisfaction largely determines the productivity and efficiency of human resource for health. It literally depicts the extent to which professionals like or dislike their jobs. Job satisfaction is said to be linked with the employee’s work environment, job responsibilities and powers and time pressure; the determinants which affect employee’s organizational commitment and consequently the quality of services. The objective of the study was to determine the level of and factors influencing job satisfaction among public health professionals in the public sector.MethodsThis was a cross sectional study conducted in Islamabad, Pakistan. Sample size was universal including 73 public health professionals, with postgraduate qualifications and working in government departments of Islamabad. A validated structured questionnaire was used to collect data from April to October 2011.ResultsOverall satisfaction rate was 41% only, while 45% were somewhat satisfied and 14% of professionals highly dissatisfied with their jobs. For those who were not satisfied, working environment, job description and time pressure were the major causes. Other factors influencing the level of satisfaction were low salaries, lack of training opportunities, improper supervision and inadequate financial rewards.ConclusionOur study documented a relatively low level of overall satisfaction among workers in public sector health care organizations. Considering the factors responsible for this state of affairs, urgent and concrete strategies must be developed to address the concerns of public health professionals as they represent a highly sensitive domain of health system of Pakistan. Improving the overall work environment, review of job descriptions and better remuneration might bring about a positive change.

Rats were trained to discriminate nicotine from saline in a two-bar operant conditioning procedure with food reinforcement. There was partial generalization to the nicotine analogues anabasine and cytisine in rats trained to discriminate either 0.2 or 0.4 mg/kg nicotine from saline. However, generalization was complete in rats trained to discriminate 0.1 mg/kg nicotine and, in a novel procedure, any one of three doses of nicotine (0.1, 0.2, or 0.4 mg/kg). There was no generalization to the muscarinic-cholinergic agonist oxotremorine (0.0025-0.04 mg/kg). Additional experiments were carried to further characterize the response of rats trained with nicotine (0.1 mg/kg). These animals failed to generalize to compounds from a range of pharmacological classes (i.e., apomorphine, cocaine, chlordiazepoxide, picrotoxin, and quipazine), but there was partial generalization to amphetamine. Mecamylamine (0.5 mg/kg) but not hexamethonium (5.0 mg/kg) blocked the discrimination of nicotine and the generalization to cytisine. Anabasine (1.0-4.0 mg/kg) did not block the response to nicotine. The results support the view that the nicotine cue is mediated mainly through central cholinergic mechanisms. The dose of nicotine used for training has a very significant influence on the characteristics of the cue and 0.1 mg/kg of nicotine may be more suitable than 0.4 mg/kg as a training dose in future work.

Tests of locomotor activity (photocell cages) were used to investigate the development of tolerance to nicotine in rats. Repeated exposure to the apparatus did not influence the rate at which tolerance was acquired. Comparisons of (+)‐nicotine (0.4–1.6 mg kg−1, s.c.) and (‐)‐nicotine (0.1–0.4 mg kg−1, s.c.) in tolerant rats showed that the (‐)‐isomer Was at least ten times more potent in stimulating motor activity. Subcutaneous pretreatment with mecamylamine (1.0 mg kg−1) completely prevented the locomotor stimulant action of nicotine in tolerant rats, whereas chlorisondamine (0.01 or 0.1 mg kg−1 s.c.) only partially reduced it. When mecamylamine was given after an injection of nicotine, the locomotor stimulant action of nicotine was blocked, and nicotine actually reduced activity. A single intraventricular dose of chlorisondamine (2 μg) blocked the stimulant actions of nicotine for the duration of the experiment (23–24 days).